Drowning tied to drinking on crowded boat, RCMP say

According to police, the craft had nine people on board.

They said that late Friday afternoon, the boat began taking on water and then capsized, sending everyone into the water.

No one was wearing life jackets, RCMP said.

"It appears the deceased, a 27-year-old man from Garden Hill First Nation, swam to shore along with everyone else but noted his 25-year-old wife was still struggling to make it to shore," police said in a news release issued Saturday. "He swam back out to help her but drowned."

The man's name was not released.

Police also said that one of the women on the boat was taken by the medivac air ambulanceto Winnipeg for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

The boatcapsized aboutfour kilometres south of Stevenson's Island on the lake.

Police arrested a 39-year-old resident of the Garden Hill First Nation and said he would be charged with impaired operation of a vessel causing death and bodily harm.

Five people were also arrested and kept overnight in cells due to their level of intoxication.

"Alcohol and overcrowding are considered contributing factors to this drowning," police said in their release, adding their investigation continues.

Island Lake is about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.